SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
MANILA, Philippines – Luxury property firm Alphaland Corp. has increased the size of its flagship private island development, Balesin, to cater to the growing domestic demand and as it pursues the international market.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Alphaland stockholders meeting on Tuesday, April 2, Marriana Yulo, Director and CFO of the property firm said that the original number of villas was supposed to be 180. It has now been pushed to 300.
“The total budget for Balesin is now closer to P4 billion,” she said.
According to Yulo, each villa costs P3 million to 4 million depending what type of villa it is.
There are currently 700 members who are able to use the island’s facilities at a membership cost of P3.2million, said Yulo. The membership price increases by P100,000 every month.
According to Mario Oreta, president and director, they have so far only offered the development to the domestic market and are expecting increased demand when they open it up to the international market.
“We still haven’t started selling outside, only locally. Once we start outside the prices will go up exponentially,” said Oreta.
Alphaland has applied for a Customs, Immigration & Quarantine (CIQ) service that will allow international flights to land on its private airport. “We applied for a CIQ- once its granted to the government our members can fly from Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan directly to the island. Our runway can accommodate up to an Airbus 319,” said Oreta.
Balesin’s airport can accommodate regional aircrafts and private jets. The island accessible from Manila via a 25-minute flight on Alphaland’s airplanes, departing from the company’s private hangar along Airport Road.
The development is located on the 500-hectare Balesin Island located in Lamon Bay, Quezon province. It features a clubhouse and destination spa and 7 themed villages designed to imitate different cities; Mykonos, St. Tropez, Toscana, Costa del Sol, Bali, Phuket and Balesin.
According to Oreta, the whole development will be complete by the end of 2014.
Alphaland is also developing Boracay Gateway, 500-hectare master planned eco-resort community that will feature a polo field. It faces Boracay island, a favorite tourist destination.
Alphaland is the property firm led by former trade minister and the country’s 11th richest man, Roberto Ongpin, and London-based Ashmore Group. The firm announced that its net income grew 5% to P2 billion in 2012.– Rappler.com
Add a comment
How does this make you feel?
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.